Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 25
25
Deferred
Paragraph: 89
Home Office failures caused significant and avoidable delays in Windrush compensation payments.
Conclusion
Given that the Windrush Compensation Scheme was set up to right the wrongs done by the Home Office to a predominantly older generation, many of whom had suffered considerable hardship as a result, there should have been a clear focus from the start on ensuring that compensation could be paid as swiftly and smoothly as The Windrush Compensation Scheme 91 possible. It is therefore staggering that the Home Office first failed adequately to prepare for, resource and staff the Windrush Compensation Scheme before opening it for applications, and then failed again to monitor the performance of the scheme sufficiently and to identify the cause of the delays. The complex nature of the impacts suffered by those affected was evident both in the extensive media coverage of the scandal and in responses to the Home Office’s own public consultation on the design of the scheme: that the complexity of applications it received seemingly took the Department by surprise is incomprehensible. It has taken far too long for the Department to accept that greater increases to the number of caseworkers were required. We consider that the long waits faced by claimants were not inevitable and believe the Home Office must accept responsibility for its part in causing these delays.
Government Response Summary
The government response details the "Impact on Life" compensation category, explaining its payment levels from £10,000 to over £100,000, the minimum £10,000 payment introduced by recent changes, and the public availability of casework guidance. It does not address the delays or operational failings highlighted in the recommendation.
Paragraph Reference:
89
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
The ‘Impact on Life’ category is specifically designed to cover the non-financial impacts individuals may have faced as a result of being unable to demonstrate their lawful status, including a deterioration in physical or mental health. This category is awarded in a series of levels with payments ranging from £10,000 for detriment where the effect on an individual was short-lived, and up to £100,000 plus where the effect on an individual was profound and likely to be irreversible. Under the changes we made to the Scheme in December, those eligible under the terms of the Scheme will receive a minimum Impact on Life payment of £10,000. Compensation under this category is awarded in a series of 5 levels recognising increasing duration and severity of impacts. Casework guidance is publicly available which defines how Impact on Life awards are considered: Windrush Compensation Scheme (publishing.service.gov.uk)